Google’s Space TPU Saga: Will AI Survive Cosmic Rays? 🚀

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Google’s latest brainwave: Launching AI into space. Because Earth’s atmosphere is so 2023.

Google just dropped Project Suncatcher on 4 November 2025, because why test AI compute on Earth when you can risk it in the void of space? 🌌 They’re partnering with Planet to blast two prototype satellites by 2027-because nothing says “scalable infrastructure” like sending TPUs on a cosmic road trip. Early tests reveal Trillium TPUs shrugged off proton-beam radiation like it was a spa day, and a bench demo hit 800 Gbps each way. Meanwhile, their dawn-dusk sun-synchronous constellation plans to form tight-knit satellite squads, soaking up solar power like a sunbathing AI. 🌞

Let’s not pretend this isn’t a tech giant’s version of “sky’s the limit”-they’ve just decided the sky is literally the limit. Challenges include high-bandwidth optical links (because Wi-Fi in space is so 2024), thermal management (TPUs don’t like feeling hot, apparently), and launch economics (spoiler: rockets are still expensive). Google claims physics isn’t stopping them, which is reassuring… until you realize they’re planning gigawatt-class constellations. Regulatory hurdles and launch availability? Pfft. Nothing says “realistic” like betting your TPU future on a cosmic dance. 🛰️

🧭 FAQs

• What will Project Suncatcher test in orbit near Earth? TPUs, optical links, and clustered constellations-because satellites need BFFs. 🤖
• When will the prototype satellites launch and with whom? Planet (the company, not the actual planet) gets two prototypes by 2027. Because why not? 🚀
• How did Google test TPU radiation tolerance on the ground? They bombarded them with a 67MeV proton beam-cosmic raves are overrated. 🌋
• What orbit and formation will the satellite constellation use? Dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbits, with satellites huddled like a space squad. Privacy? Not a priority. 🌑

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2025-11-05 12:20